8 Invigorating Benefits of Detoxing From Sugar

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Do you ever feel ‘hooked’ on sugar almost like a drug addict?

Do you struggle with energy in the middle of the day?

We all know that less sugar means more energy, younger looking skin, not to mention the reduced risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease!!!

Despite these about refined sugars are well known, most Americans still eat three times the recommended amount of sugar per day. Why? Why is sugar so addictive?

If you’re like me, even with the best of intentions, sugar is difficult or impossible to quit!

We have evolved to crave sugar, and the amounts of it available in modern food have led to an addiction epidemic!

In this report, we look at what sugar does to our bodies, the health benefits of detoxing from sugar, and the key to detoxing from sugar and experiencing the weight loss we really want!

8 Invigorating Benefits of Detoxing From Sugar

Sugar Detox Causes Weight Loss

The Keto diet is recommended by nutritionists as one of the most effective ways to detox from sugar. But quitting sugar is extremely challenging! Not only is it in so many modern produced foods, but sugar has an addictive effect, which always leaves us craving more!

So why reduce our sugar intake, surely not all sugar is bad?

It is true that the naturally occurring sugar found in fruits and veggies form an essential part of a balanced diet, but the refined and added sugars found in many foods, especially carbohydrate-rich foods, push us towards sugar overload.

The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 6 teaspoons of sugar per day for women, and 9 teaspoons for men. Meanwhile, the average American eats a staggering 17 teaspoons of sugar per day!

Most refined and added sugars are found in carbohydrates. On Keto, an average carbohydrate intake of 100-150 grams per day is reduced to less than 50 grams per day.

Keto requires 60% of our daily calories and therefore our energy source to come from fats, not carbohydrates.

The fats provide us with a constant and stable source of energy, which helps reduce sugar cravings and makes it easier to stay disciplined with a sugar detox plan.

The Keto diet heavily restricts the amount of carbohydrates consumed. Both good sugar in fruit as well as refined sugar, corn syrup, corn starch and other added sugars, when in our body all become carbohydrates.

Why do we Crave Sugar?

The brain is hard-wired to get excited about sugar. When we eat sugar, the brain gets flooded with the feel-good chemical dopamine, which gives us a short-term mood boost.

Our ancestors experienced food shortages and periods of famine, therefore our brains developed a survival mechanism that makes us crave sweet-tasting, energy-dense foods. This enabled our bodies to store energy in times of plenty in order to prepare ourselves in times of famine.

Now that we live in a constant state of plenty, this evolutionary adaptation is hurting us, as we eat significantly more calories than we need, especially in the form of energy-rich, sugar-laden foods.

When we try to cut back on sugar, our addicted brains and bodies often try and stop us!

Our brains evolved to perceive eating sugar and carbohydrates as a positive and therefore send us that feel-good dopamine, when we eat carbohydrates. No wonder carbs are called ‘comfort foods’!

Consuming carbs drives us to look for more carbohydrates in order to maintain that feeling. Similarly, our appetite is stimulated when we eat carbohydrates, encouraging us to eat more and more.

Finally, going an extended period of time without sugar can cause physical withdrawal symptoms. These manifest as flu-like symptoms as our bodies, accustomed to a regular supply of sugar and carbohydrates, detox to cope with the lack of sugar and carbs.

These evolutionary adaptations make it very difficult for us to reduce our sugar intake, causing many of us trying to do so to ‘fall off the wagon’.

It is common for people to quit most diets or gain back the weight that was lost because of this specific issue.

Although detoxing from sugar and carbs can be challenging, there is a way to stay consistent maintain our weight loss!

Using Keto to Detox from Sugar

The Keto diet is recommended by nutritionists as one of the most effective ways to detox from sugar.

The Keto diet requires us to reduce our carbohydrate intake from the daily average of 100-150 grams to less than 50 grams per day. Carbohydrates are our primary source of sugar, consequently this compels us to reduce our sugar and carbohydrate intake.

The Keto diet is unlike almost every other diet because it necessitates us to obtain 60% of our daily caloric intake from fats!

Healthy fats would include meat, eggs and dairy, nuts, seeds and avocados, olive oil and coconut oil. These fats give the body a lot of energy, which suppresses our cravings for carbohydrates, thus making it easier to avoid them.

Using fat for fuel instead of carbs sets the ketogenic diet apart!

Sugar cravings are suppressed and the body uses fats for energy, including our own surplus body fat.

One of the greatest benefits of Keto is that, when combined with a calorie deficit, it can help us lose weight fast!

Keto diet changes the way we produce energy. Most people produce energy by burning carbs that produce glucose. For most people, glucose energize the body.

On Keto, our body is starved of carbohydrates, forcing it to produce energy from stored fats. Stored fats are converted into ketones, which produce energy for us.

This alternative metabolic process is known as ketosis. In this way, the Keto diet supercharges the standard calorie-deficit diet. As sugar and carbohydrates no longer serve as our main energy source this further reduces our sugar cravings.

8 invigorating Benefits of Detoxing Sugar

If sugar is so difficult to quit, why should we be concerned about removing it from our diet?

The number of health benefits from cutting back on sugar are too numerous to count! It is difficult to know where to start!

1.   More Energy

Added sugars are simple carbohydrates, which means that they are digested and enter the bloodstream quickly, giving us a bit of a rush.

Once that sugar has been metabolized, we start to crash, as our body craves more. This puts us on a daily energy rollercoaster as the sugar in our system spikes and dips.

Reducing sugar and getting energy from better sources, such as proteins and fats, can help us have a steadier stream of energy throughout the day.

2.   Reduce Belly Fat

Carbohydrates spike our blood sugar, which in turn triggers a flood of insulin throughout the body. This encourages the accumulation of fat, especially around the belly.

The type of fat that this gathers around the abdomen, known as visceral fat, is the worst type of fat to carry. It generates adipokines and adipose hormones, chemicals that can cause inflammation in the organs and contribute to conditions such as heart disease and cancer.

Cutting back on sugar helps reduce this visceral fat, and the health risks that go along with it. Though it may seem conflicting, carbohydrates produce belly fat and healthy fats help energize.

3.   Lose Weight

As well as adding weight to the belly specifically, sugar can add fat cells all over our body as our body produces insulin. When our bodies produce more insulin, this triggers us to store the excess calories it is gaining from sugar. Reducing sugar intake and replacing it with calories from healthy fats stabilize our insulin levels, leading to fewer calories stored as far.

4.   Reduced Risk of Diabetes